The grand IPL auction in Dubai, with eyebrows raised and excitement galore amongst the cricket fraternity experts and fans about the outcome of the 2024 auction and how it would be beneficial to some who are trying to rebuild their squads freshly over again with future in mind. It seemed to have been a hit for franchises who selected new crop of Indian uncapped talented players to their teams .In their vision to grow on the talent pool has resulted Mumbai Indians (MI) to invest into another uncapped Indian talent from Baroda, Shivalik Sharma
The most talked about franchise in IPL is undoubtedly Mumbai Indians (MI) who has won 5 titles of IPL over the last 10 years since 2013. The Ambani led management franchise has always been instrumental in giving examples of a visionary future and this year it wont be anything different.
Right from the inception of IPL since 2008 till the auction on 19th December, Mumbai Indians has being unique in their style of acquisition and retaining of players. What amuses more from a viewer point is the ability and knack of Mumbai Indians to process and select a player and develop it into the product effective to represent their respective countries in the highest form of cricket.
Many such examples are seeing in Indian cricket itself be it Sachin Tendulkar to become its first captain or Robin Singh as its coaching staff. Keeping lesser known Rahul Sanghvi as a specialist to hunt down young talents or making use of International coaches like John Wright , Mahela Jayawardene or Shane Bond as their mentoring staffs.
Mumbai Indians (MI) as a franchise over the years understood the need of growth for talent and this hunger led them to conspire a leader in Rohit Sharma whom they first bought in 2010 then nurtured him for next 3 years and in 2013 in the midway handed him the reigns of the team from ably capable Ricky Ponting only to go further and win the elusive IPL title that year.
The confidence and trust shown on Rohit Sharma as a captain was to the level that in the forthcoming years till 2023 Mumbai Indians had 4 more titles to their name and Rohit Sharma becoming the most successive captain of IPL history after Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
This vision of Mumbai Indians was not only limited with Rohit Sharma ,it went further and produced future superstars for India like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya who was instrumental as a young talent winning Mumbai 4 of their 5 titles.
Further the allrounder has tremendous success in the year 2022 leading his side Gujarat Titans(GT) to their maiden title in the first year of inception itself and again reaching finals in the 2023 IPL season thus creating a wide buzz when he decided to return to his old franchise ahead of 2024 season of IPL.
However their vision to grow on the talent pool has resulted Mumbai Indians (MI) to invest into another uncapped Indian talent from Baroda, Shivalik Sharma who was picked up by the franchise for the base price of 20 lakhs INR.
It is going to be a massive learning curve for me- Shivalik Sharma
Baroda cricketer Shivalik Sharma is set to play for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2024 season after he was picked in the auction for a base price of ₹20 lakh. He is a name not many have heard of, but MI have a specialty in producing world class players by identifying their potential early.
Just like Shivalik, another uncapped Baroda cricketer was signed by MI way back in 2015. That cricketer is none other than Hardik Pandya, who went on to become a crucial player not just for Mumbai Indians but also for Team India.
Shivalik Sharma has played a bit with Hardik Pandya and is looking forward to sharing the dressing room with him and play under his leadership at MI. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, Shivalik said:
“Really excited to play under Hardik bhai. Since he is from Baroda too, I have played with him in a couple of Ranji Trophy games and really enjoyed it. Going to a franchise like the Mumbai Indians who have won so many trophies, I am looking forward to getting groomed and maturing as a cricketer,”
“It is going to be a massive learning curve for me sharing the dressing room with so many star players and also working under the coaching of legends,” he added.
Apart from Hardik Pandya, there are other star Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah as well from whom Shivalik Sharma wants to learn a lot. On this, he said:
“They have had incredible experience of playing international cricket and definitely there’s a lot to learn from them. Particularly the way they have been so consistent, which is what I feel is so crucial for any player to be successful,”
“I am looking forward to learning how they approach big games, what’s their mindset, how they back themselves to get the job done for the team and that is something that will help me in my growth as well,” he added.
Shivalik Sharma on his mindset and faith
Shivalik Sharma had a pretty eventful 2023 as it began with him being dropped from an U25 game. The snub hurt the youngster, but he didn’t give up as he made the most of any opportunity that came his way.
Jeevan Cup, a tournament played among teams like Gujarat, Baroda and Saurashtra, was Shivalik’s chance to shine and he grabbed it with both hands. He also made a breakthrough in the Baroda team for the domestic white-ball tournaments and has ended the year being picked by MI.
On this, Shivalik Sharma stated:
“There was an U25 red-ball game this year itself on January 1st. I had played that game and was dropped after just one opportunity. While I was disappointed to have been dropped after just one chance, now when I look back at it, I believe that motivated me to raise the level of my performances,”
“I started the year getting dropped and ended the year by being picked for Mumbai Indians. So that’s a motivation that gives me goosebumps. I have blind trust in God that whatever happens, happens for good,”
Shivalik Sharma has also put in a lot of work on his bowling and wants to contribute as a batter who can bowl handy right-arm leg-spin. On this, he added:
“I always knew I could bowl, but initially I didn’t use to work hard on it. One day our team’s senior cricketer Bhargav Bhatt advised me to work on my bowling. He said, ‘Start bowling and you will thank me after six months.’ I really want to thank him as I now work equally hard on all three departments,”
“Even the coaches in our team like Mukund sir and Aravind sir have helped me work on my bowling and I push myself as much as possible to become a handy all-rounder,” he concluded.
The impact player rule might allow Shivalik Sharma to show his talent during IPL 2024 thus proving the fact that Mumbai Indians eye for talent certainly has a long way in creating future Indian super stars.